Mosmordre:The Assassin
by hp1piececraziness
Summary: As soon as he gets back from Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy is brought to the headquarters of the Death Eaters. Soon, the Dark Lord assigns him the very important task of assassinating Albus Dumbledore. The other Death Eaters are sure that he won't succeed and it doesn't help that the Order is determined to kill him, but Draco isn't going to just accept failure. Please review!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. It belongs to J.K. Rowling!

Prologue

No one bothered the old inn. It had been abandoned over a decade ago and few people even knew that it was still standing. This made it the perfect headquarters for the Death Eaters, well, for those of them who hadn't been imprisoned after the disaster at the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries. Many of them had been arrested after the skirmish at the Department of Mysteries with the Order of the Phoenix. The skirmish had only resulted in failure, and the Dark Lord was enraged with the Death Eater who had been in charge of the mission, Lucius Malfoy.

It was 1996, and the Dark Lord was almost as strong as he had been fifteen years ago before his downfall, but the Death Eaters still had to stay hidden. Many of them were escaped convicts from Azkaban, one of them was supposed to be worse than dead, and all of them had some experience in the Dark Arts. They did not yet have control over the British Ministry of Magic, and every public location in the magical world was covered with wanted posters for Death Eaters. With the Aurors more alert and paranoid than ever, things were far from safe.

So, for now, the Death Eaters, waited for an opportunity to take another small step towards taking over the Ministry of Magic. They had two priorities at the moment: to control the Ministry and to take over Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But, there was one person preventing them from taking immediate action towards their goals, and that person was Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore was the only person that the Dark Lord feared. As long as Dumbledore was powerful, the Order of the Phoenix would be powerful. During the first war, the Order had been the greatest threat to the Death Eaters. None of them had dared to attack one another since the fight at the Department of Mysteries. The Death Eaters were in no position to fight because most of them were in Azkaban and those who weren't feared being arrested, and the Order did not attack because they did not know where to go or whether they'd encounter the Dark Lord himself.

Few things happened at Headquarters. The most excitement that had occurred in the last month was the arrival of Narcissa Malfoy. She had had to come to Headquarters, for the safety of her and her son, in case the Order came to her home and decided to get violent. Unlike her imprisoned husband, she was not a Death Eater and neither was her son, Draco. Well at least he wasn't a Death Eater yet. She would bring him the Headquarters, so it seemed clear to the other Death Eaters that he'd join them. Naricissa was miserable there. That was evident.

She sat by the fireplace at Headquarters. She stared blankly ahead of her, and said nothing. There were other people in the room. A gaunt man with uncombed straw blonde hair paced back and forth. He kept licking his lips and muttering things to himself. A pale woman with very long dark brown hair and eyes sat across from Narcissa. She had a fierce looking dog with a strange forked tail on her lap. It growled softly at Narcissa whenever she looked at it. Narcissa's sister Bellatrix sat next to her.

"When will the boy be coming?" asked Bellatrix, breaking the silence. "Tomorrow," said Narcissa. "That's when he gets back from Hogwarts." The skeletal man with the straw blonde hair stopped pacing. "How old is Draco?" he asked. "He's only sixteen," replied Narcissa. "He's only a boy." "He's old enough," said Bellatrix. "We used to have people join the Death Eaters younger than that…" "And I'm sure you remember exactly what happened to those who became Death Eaters before they even graduated Hogwarts." said the man with the straw blonde hair. Bellatrix sighed and said, "The weak and helpless shouldn't become Death Eaters. It's not a surprise that they didn't last long. Anyway, Death Eaters who aren't of any use to the Dark Lord have no reason to live. If that's the case with Draco and he dies, well, it would be a minor loss wouldn't it?"

"Bella!" gasped Narcissa. "We shouldn't have let them join," said the man with the straw blonde hair. "Letting inexperienced wizards become Death Eaters, is equal to giving them a death sentence." "He's right you know." said the woman with the fork-tailed dog. "Draco belongs to a respectable pureblood family of Death Eaters," snapped Bellatrix. "He will join sooner or later, so why not now? I can easily teach him anything that he hasn't learned at Hogwarts. I can teach him more valuable skills." She looked at the woman with the dog coldly and added, "The Half-Bloods never understand."

"Don't speak to her like…" started the thin man, but the woman with the dog cut him off. "Oh I think I do understand," said the woman. "We're desperate for more Death Eaters right now. With over half of us imprisoned, we're outnumbered. If the Order were to come this very night…" "Then, we fight them off," said the man. "We all have wands. We all know how to duel multiple people at once. We still have a fighting chance against the Order, even with half of us imprisoned. It can be done. " Narcissa shook her head. She looked up at the man. Half of her wanted to yell at him that he was mad, which was probably at least somewhat true, but she decided against it. "Barty," She said to him. "Draco doesn't think like that. He's not ready. He's never fought anyone before."

"Does he know any of the Unforgivable Curses?" asked Barty. "I say that anyone who knows the Cruciatus Curse and can throw a few punches can hold off an Auror for a while." "No, he doesn't." said Narcissa, and looking up at how skinny Barty was, she added, "And I don't think that you should try ever getting into a physical fight with any Aurors. I'd say that you should stick to using your wand." Barty shrugged. "You'd be surprised, Cissy," muttered Bellatrix. "He did give the Aurors a few bruises that night when we were both arrested." The woman with the dog was looking more concerned.

"Lucius never taught him how to duel?" she asked quietly. "No," replied Narcissa. "We never thought that he'd need to learn how to at such a young age." "Well, that's just like Lucius," said Bellatrix. "Too incompetent to teach his son how to defend himself." "Poor boy." murmured the woman with the dog. Barty sighed and said, "I suppose that you could try to teach him the Cruciatus Curse and some basic defense spells over the summer, Bellatrix?" "Well, of course I can," said Bellatrix. "But, if he's anything like Lucius, I doubt he'll ever be skilled at any of them." "Most sixteen-year-old boys can't perform the Cruciatus Curse at all, Bella," said Narcissa. "Don't be surprised if Draco is unable to use it perfectly."

"Mulciber learned the Cruciatus Curse at the age of sixteen," muttered Bellatrix. "So did Avery and…" "Those two were exceptions," said Narcissa. "The Avery's father was one of the original Death Eaters, and after Mulciber's family was murdered, he went to live with the Avery family. They were both exposed to this sort of life at an early age. Draco is different. He's not used to this lifestyle!"

"Perhaps," said Barty. "But he'll have to adjust. Our whole world is going to have to adjust. We're entering another war, and there's no denying it. Anyone who says that everything's going to calm down after this is deceiving themself. There's only one more thing that needs to be done before everything is just the way it was during the first war. We all know what that is of course, and from what I understand, the Dark Lord is preparing to order someone to carry out the deed. He's needed someone to carry out that task for a long time, and rumor has it, he's found someone."

The woman with the dog and Bellatrix nodded. "And what exactly would that deed be?" asked Narcissa softly. "Kill Albus Dumbledore." said Barty. "And who would be the assassin?" Narcissa asked. For a while, nobody spoke. "Well, of course, it's just a rumor," said the woman with the dog. "I wouldn't take it seriously…" "Oh just spit it out!" snapped Bellatrix. The woman with the dog stared at Barty for a moment. He sighed and said, "Your son Narcissa, Draco Malfoy."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Everything in Draco Malfoy's life seemed to have changed. When he had gotten back from his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there had been no one at the station waiting for him. He remembered the letter that he had received a few days ago from his mother. It had been a very short letter instructing him to go to the alley nearby Kings Cross Station, find the old green bag there and grab it. There had been no instructions on what to do after this, nor had there been any explanation about why he should do this.

The whole letter had seemed ridiculous, but it was no doubt from his mother. All Draco could think about as he left Kings Cross Station and headed towards the alley, was the absurdness of the letter. He doubted that there would even be any old green bag there. He didn't even know why he was bothering to go to the alley, but he had few other options.

The streets were crowded with Muggles. A few of them stared at him and the other Hogwarts students for a moment, pointing at their unusual school uniforms and the caged owls that a few of them carried. Draco ignored them. He slipped away from the crowd and found the alley. There was no sign of anyone there. The whole place was dark and empty. Draco thought that he saw some small and white animal dart into the alley. He walked a little further, and to his surprise, he found a tattered, dark green bag. He hesitated and then reached for it. He didn't expect anything to happen and felt extremely foolish.

But something did happen. The moment he touched the bag, his surroundings became too blurry for him to tell where he was. There as a sudden strong wind blowing around him. Draco closed his eyes tightly and felt the impact as he landed hard on the ground. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was no longer in the alley. Instead, he was surrounded by a field of dead grass. He looked up and saw a tall building a few yards away. It appeared abandoned. There was a sign next to it. Most of the letters on the sign were worn away, but Draco could make out one word: INN.

Draco saw someone move aside the curtains at one of the windows. He jumped and glimpsed a girl with light brown hair and wide green eyes staring back at him. A moment later, she disappeared. The whole area was surrounded by thick forests, and the only sign of civilization that Draco could see was the ominous building. He assumed that that was where he was supposed to go. He gulped and walked up to it.

He crept up the front steps and knocked on the door. The doorknob had an unusual design engraved on it. It appeared to be a tiny skull, with a snake coming out of its mouth. The doorknob was probably the only part of the building that didn't look ancient. Draco heard growling and barking. A woman opened the door. She had dark brown hair that was extremely long, but neat. She had eyes that were the same colour as her hair and gave her a look of determination. '"You're the Malfoy boy, aren't you?" she said. "I assume the Portkey worked then…"

A small dog, much like a Jack Russell terrier dashed out from behind her and stopped in between them, growling and barring its teeth. Draco noticed two strange things about the dog; its teeth were abnormally sharp and curved, and it had a long forked tail. "Don't mind her," said the woman, staring down at the creature with a look of amusement. "Crups are generally aggressive toward strangers, especially muggles. They prefer those with magical blood. If you were a muggle, she'd probably be trying to rip you apart right now. My little Ginger is just extremely protective. The worse she's ever done is make an Auror loose his finger once."

The woman laughed. Draco eyed the creature, nervously. "Well, come in, come in," said the woman. "Just go straight down the hallway. You'll find a room with a few chairs and a fireplace. You're mother and aunt should be there." Draco stepped inside T and walked down a long corridor. The inn was dimly lit, since most of the lamps that had once lit the hallway were broken. It was also very dusty inside and it seemed like there wasn't a single corner in the inn that wasn't covered with cobwebs.

Several rooms with numbers on their doors lined the hall. Draco found the one at the end of the corridor. The door was stiff, but Draco forced it open. In the room, there was a man seated by a fireplace. He was skeletal and pale, with untidy straw-colored hair and eyes. There was something familiar about him.

As soon as the door opened, the man stood up, and pointed his wand at Draco, who froze. The man stared at him for a while and then lowered his wand. "I haven't seen you for a year, Draco," said the man. "Your mother has told me about you recently; however I do still have one question to ask you. Have your fellow students forgotten about what happened in your fourth year, or are you still Draco Malfoy, The Amazing Bouncing Ferret?"

The man grinned as Draco realized where he remembered this man from. He remembered the man's name now, Barty Crouch Jr. "So you do remember," said Crouch. "I taught you in your fourth year, Draco. Of course, you don't recognize me from anywhere other than the Daily Prophet. I suppose you've learned not to attack someone when their back is turned." Draco did recall the Daily Prophet article about Crouch. Crouch was a Death Eater who had impersonated a teacher at Hogwarts, murdered his father, and helped the Dark Lord rise again. But, the Daily Prophet had stated clearly that Crouch had received the Dementor's Kiss."

"You're not," murmured Draco. "He's soulless… he's…" Barty Crouch laughed. "Yes, I should be in my grave," he said. "Many people certainly wish that I was in my grave, but for now, I'm very much alive. You'll learn that quite a few people here should be dead, but luckily, or perhaps alas, we live. It becomes a sort of joke after a while. The Daily Prophet is _so_ inaccurate these days." He paused. Draco couldn't decide whether to run away from Crouch or ask him how he'd managed to survive the Dementor's Kiss. He really didn't have anywhere that he could possibly run. He didn't even know exactly where he was.

"I suppose you're wondering how I'm still alive," said Crouch, as if he had read Draco's mind. "It is an interesting matter, and it's probably too complicated for you to understand, but for now, I can tell you that memory charms can cause a lot of confusion. So much of what the Daily Prophet says about me is false. The murder, my death, none of that's true. As for what the Ministry has to say about me being insane, well, they might be right about that."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

At that moment, two women entered the room. Draco knew both of them. One of them was his mother, Narcissa Malfoy. The other was his aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, whom he could only remember seeing in the Daily Prophet and on wanted posters. She had extremely tangled glossy black hair and heavily lidded black eyes. "I heard that the demon dog doesn't like you very much, Draco," she said. "But, by the looks of it, it didn't bite you; you've still got all of your limbs." "Um… she called it a crup," said Draco. "I think she named it ginger."

"So, you've met Sky Lorrel," muttered Crouch. "She likes magical creatures, especially those that are dangerous, carnivorous, and furry. Crups fit all of those categories in a way. I believe that it has always been one of her dreams to get a Runespoor also. They aren't very furry, but she likes serpents…" "Well, I'm surprised that that dog hasn't bitten her yet, considering Sky's blood status," said Bellatrix. "Her father was a Mudblood, her own brother was a Squib, and her sister…" "It doesn't matter." Crouch said, firmly. "She's a clever witch and crups only care whether a person has magical blood or not. It doesn't matter to crups what a person's blood status is." There was a different tone in his voice. It was almost defensive.

"Well, they're odd little creatures, crups," Bellatrix said. "The blood purity is what really matters. Muggles, Mudbloods, Squibs and all that filth… they contaminate the blood of any wizard or witch, and you should know that, Barty. You came from a respectable pureblood family afterall." "If you ask me," said Crouch. "There was nothing really respectable about my family. Sky on the other hand…"

"Come, Draco," called Narcissa. "They can go on for a rather long about these things." As she and Draco left the room, Draco heard Bellatrix say in a mocking tone, "You seem very passionate about defending her. Why do you care so much, Barty? Are you in love with the blood traitor? Are you willing to contaminate your own pure blood status?" Then, the door closed behind them.

"We'll be staying here for now, Draco," said Narcissa. "I'll show you where you'll be sleeping and where you can unpack." "Why didn't you tell me that we were coming here in your letter?" asked Draco. "If I had told you and that letter got in the wrong hands," replied Narcissa. "It would have been a disaster for all of us. I'm sorry if it confused you." "But why can't we go home?" asked Draco. "And where are we?" Narcissa sighed and said, "Now that your father has been imprisoned and exposed as a Death Eater, we are no longer safe. This is the current headquarters for the Death Eaters. It's the best place for us to be right now. The Aurors are probably searching for us right now."

"But we're not Death Eaters," said Draco. "Why should they be looking for us?" Narcissa sighed again. "Your father's a Death Eater," she said. "And your aunt and uncles are Death Eaters too. As long as we have relatives who are Death Eaters, we're in danger." That didn't make much sense to Draco, but he didn't ask for an explanation.

They walked up a long spiral staircase. Draco thought that there must have been at least five different floors. At the third floor, they turned and went down a short corridor. At the end of the corridor, there was a small room. There was a bed with a side table by it, a little closet, and a chair. Narcissa handed Draco the key to the room and said, "You'll be sleeping here during our stay." Draco nodded. His mother turned to leave. "Wait." he said. Narcissa turned around to face him. "If this is the Headquarters for the Death Eaters, is the Dark Lord here?" asked Draco. "No, not yet." replied Narcissa. She sighed for the third time and added firmly, "Don't go around talking about the Dark Lord or asking any questions about him. They won't like it." Then, she left the room without another word.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Draco spent the next day wandering around Headquarters. Sky Lorrel and her crup had gone to do what she called "gnome hunting" and it was therefore safe to roam around Headquarters without being bitten by the very aggressive little dog. Draco saw many other Death Eaters that he thought he had seen in the _Daily Prophet_, but he couldn't remember their names. He didn't talk to them, and they merely stared at him.

The old inn was very plain, and it bored Draco. He went outside. There was a lake a short distance away from headquarters. It was hard to tell exactly how deep it was, but from the surface, it looked bottomless. It was relaxing by the lake. Draco heard small animal of some sort scampered around in the tall grass. Floating on the lake was something that resembled a rotting log, but Draco thought that he saw four paws and a pair of narrow eyes on it.

"That thing has been there for weeks." said a voice a few feet away. Draco jumped and pulled out his wand. A girl, maybe a year or two older than him was standing a few feet away. She had wide green eyes and slightly curly light brown hair. "Did you apparate here?" asked Draco. He didn't lower his wand. "No, I'm bad at it," said the girl. "I have my own ways of getting around. That's how I know that you're Draco Malfoy. I hear things even when people don't want me to. That's also how I know that you're in Slytherin House at Hogwarts, you just turned sixteen recently, and you just got back from your fifth year at school."

Draco just stood there. He didn't feel at all comfortable that someone whom he had never met before knew so much about him. The girl giggled at his confusion and said, "You can lower your wand. I'm not going to attack you." "First, tell me who you are." said Draco. "I'm Carrie Annen," she said. "I'm a Death Eater. I can prove it to you." She rolled up the left sleeve of her robes and Draco saw the Dark Mark branded on the crook of her left arm. "Lower your wand and we can chat." said Carrie cheerfully. Draco stowed away his wand in his robes.

"Is there anyone with you?" he asked, looking around. "Well, my sister, Amanda should be coming outside soon," replied Carrie, glancing back at Headquarters. "She's probably training with the Carrows." She turned around and stared at the strange log in the lake. "As I was saying," she said. "That dugbog in the lake has been there for ages. They have very sharp teeth and they kill my mandrake plants, which I've been trying to grow for months! I've been trying to get rid of it, but it dodges all of my curses."

Draco nodded and pretended that he understood exactly what she was talking about. "I've tried using several charms to protect my mandrakes," she continued with a sigh. "But they haven't worked too well. Mandrakes take a long time to grow to full size. They can be used to make medicinal potions, and we're running low on them. It's so frustrating! That thing keeps destroying half of them before they're even one foot tall!"

At that moment, another girl, who looked around the age of ten, came running forward. Her long hair, which was tied into two pig-tails, was the same shade as Carrie's. She had wide green eyes and wore a pair of glasses. Draco knew by the resemblance that this was Carrie's sister. "Carrie!" she yelled. "Alecto says to come inside quickly!"

She came to a stop next to them and spotted Draco. "Who's he?" she asked. "Amy, this is Draco," said Carrie before Draco could introduce himself. "He's Narcissa Malfoy's son. Draco, this is my sister, Amanda. Now, what's going on?" "Sky Lorrel saw people in the woods!" shrieked Amanda. "We don't know who they are, but it could be the Order! We need to go inside _now_!" "What's the Order?" asked Draco. "He doesn't know who the Order of the Phoenix is?" exclaimed Amanda. "How stupid is he?" "Enough, Amy," said Carrie quickly. "We can discuss it later. We have to get inside immediately!"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

They rushed back to Headquarters. Sky Lorrel met them at the door, hastily ushered them inside and locked the door. Her crup, Ginger, was running around the old inn, barking and growling. The other Death Eaters were seated around a fireplace that was now just a pile of coals. Draco, Carrie and Amanda joined them.

Amanda ran towards a short woman with red hair that was tied neatly in a bun. Carrie followed her. Draco saw his mother and aunt in the corner of the room. His mother beckoned to him and he sprinted over to her. "What's going on?" he asked. "There's somebody out there," said Narcissa. "Where were you all this time?" "By the lake," said Draco. "Do you know who's out there?" Narcissa shook her head. "It's either an Order member or a Death Eater who's just escaped from Azkaban," said Bellatrix. "Keep your wand out in case you have to duel anyone." "What's the Order?" asked Draco. "I see that your father never told you about the Order," said Bellatrix with a sigh. "Of course, someone like Lucius probably didn't even teach you how to duel."

"Not now, Bella!" snapped Narcissa. She turned to Draco and said, "The Order of the Phoenix is an organization that was created by Albus Dumbledore to oppose the Death Eaters during the first war." "I think that they do a lot more than just 'opposing' us," said Bellatrix. "They're murderers, Draco. They kill Death Eaters and anyone who has any relation to a Death Eater. After the first war, they murdered quite a few people who were friends and family members of Death Eaters. But they've always managed to tell enough lies to stay out of Azkaban."

Draco hoped that whoever was outside wasn't a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He'd never been in a fight with a fully trained wizard or witch before. The only time he'd ever dueled someone was in the Hogwarts Dueling Club during his second year at Hogwarts, and he'd only been using simple hexes and charms. "But if a member of the Order comes and you're alone," said Bellatrix. "You hold them off as long as you can and…"

"EVERYONE BE QUIET!" shouted someone from the window. Draco froze and spotted Barty Crouch, staring out of the window. "You didn't have to scream, Barty." said the short woman with the red hair in a bun, whom Amanda was now sitting next to. She had a very high –pitched voice. "Did you hear that, Alecto?" asked Crouch, still scanning the dry field outside through the window. "Did any of you hear that?" "Hear what?" asked Alecto. She turned to a man who was seated next to her. He was also very short and had black hair and eyes. "Did you hear anything, Amycus?" she asked. "No," said the man in a wheezy voice that sounded similar to Alecto's. "Crouch, what…"

Before Amycus could finish his sentence, Crouch whipped out his wand, pointed it at the window and yelled, "Stupefy!" A bright blue light came out of the tip of his wand. It went right through the window which shattered. "I think I stunned someone." said Crouch quietly, and before anyone could say anything else, he ran outside.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Immediately, Crouch was followed by the other Death Eaters. "He's really gone mad." muttered Amycus. "I wonder who he stunned," said Amanda Annen. "If it's someone from the Order, I'd like to use the Cruciatus Curse a little. I'm getting better at it." "If it is," replied her sister. "Bellatrix will probably finish them off before any of us can even say the incantation." "That would be nice too." said Amanda. Amanda could sound innocent and benign no matter what she was saying if she wanted to.

"I suppose it never occurred to Barty to open the window first before casting that Stunning spell," murmured Alecto, staring at the broken shards of glass. "Did you actually expect him to open the window?" Bellatrix sneered. "Barty would burn down the whole building if he thought it meant catching someone in the Order. Come, Draco." Draco followed his aunt outside.

The other Death Eaters were crowded around a small clearing. As Draco got closer, he saw that there was a woman, whom he'd never seen before, lying flat on the ground. Her skin was perfectly smooth and her face looked like the face of a young woman, however her short hair was grey and her delicate hands were wrinkled.

Draco joined the circle of Death Eaters that surrounded the woman. "Is she dead?" he asked quietly. "Of course not, you imbecile!" said Amanda a few feet away. "She's stunned." "Barty," said Sky Lorrel. "Do you know who this is?" Crouch shook his head and said, "No, but if we wake her up, perhaps she can tell us. Do we have any truth serums?" "Unfortunately, we do not." Sky said.

"We have no need for truth serums," said Bellatrix. "The Cruciatus Curse is much more efficient." Crouch looked at her dubiously. "The Cruciatus Curse?" he said. "You do realize that using the Cruciatus Curse could cause permanent mental damage to whoever this is. Then, any hopes of her telling us any useful information would be gone. Don't you remember what happened to the Longbottoms?" "The Longbottoms were mentally unstable to begin with if you ask me," muttered Alecto to Amycus and the two laughed. They both had very squeaky and wheezy laughs, very much like their voices.

"Well, do we really have any other options, Barty?" said Bellatrix. "Unless you're suggesting that we should just let her go…" "I'm not saying that we shouldn't interrogate her," Crouch said, glancing at the unconscious woman. "I'm just suggesting that you don't use the Cruciatus Curse the way you did with the Longbottoms." "I can control myself," snapped Bellatrix. "Now, why don't you wake her up?"

Crouch took out his wand again, pointed it at the unconscious woman, and muttered, "Ennervate." Instantly, she awoke, and as she did so, her grey hair grew a couple inches and turned the unusual shade of bubble-gum pink and her hands became as smooth as her face. She looked around in alarm. She murmured something about her wand, hastily got to her feet and tried to dart away. Bellatrix was faster. With a swift flick of her wand, the young woman screamed and fell to the ground. Bellatrix pounced on her.

"Nymphadora Tonks!" shrieked Bellatrix, pointing her wand at the young woman's throat. Draco took a few steps towards his aunt and the woman called Nymphadora, but his mother held him back. "Draco," said Narcissa. "Let Bellatrix deal with this. Nymphadora is an Auror and a member of the Order. She's dangerous." "She's a lot more than that," Amycus sniggered. "She's family isn't she?"


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Bellatrix glared at Amycus and said, "She is no niece of mine!" "Niece?" said Draco, bewildered. Amycus and Alecto giggled. "You never told him, Bella?" said Amycus. "You never informed Draco that he has a half-blood cousin who's in the Order and her name is Nymphadora Tonks?" Bellatrix flushed and said indignantly, "Draco has no relation to this filth!" This did not make sense at all to Draco. As far as he was concerned he had one pureblood aunt, Bellatrix, and two pureblood uncles, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange. None of them had children. "Draco knows how ridiculous the very thought of it is!" shrieked Bellatrix. "I don't have another aunt and uncle?" asked Draco softly. "Do I?"

Straightaway, he knew that that had been the wrong thing to say. Amycus and Alecto giggled more than ever. Bellatrix flushed even more and glowered at Draco, who had no idea what he had done wrong, for bringing up the subject. Nymphadora Tonks stared at Draco for a few moments. She looked from him to the Death Eaters around her, a look of pure terror in her eyes.

"You never told him." said Barty Crouch, frowning. Bellatrix turned and scowled at him. "Andromeda is no sister of mine!" she said angrily. "I thought that you'd understand! I thought you'd agree that the boy didn't need to know! You're pureblood!" "And I thought that you'd agree that Draco deserves to be informed about this." said Crouch. Draco looked at his mother, who sighed and said, "Bella, I think that Draco should be told about Andromeda."

"Cissy!" screamed Bellatrix. "Surely you don't consider Andromeda…" "I don't," said Narcissa. "But now that the subject has been brought up, Draco should be told about Andromeda. Our family is still pureblood even if Draco knows about her." Bellatrix sighed, and said reluctantly, "Fine. You can tell him once we have all this sorted out."

She turned back to Nymphadora Tonks. "What do we do with this one?" Crouch asked in a low voice. "Maybe we could keep her here until the Dark Lord comes, so that if there's anything that the Dark Lord wants to know about the Order, he'll be able to interrogate her." "I doubt that the Dark Lord will be interested in interrogating Tonks himself," said Crouch. "He'd probably be upset that we didn't kill her."

"And if we keep her here," said Sky Lorrel. "The Order will realize that she's gone. They were probably the ones that sent her here to see whether this is really our headquarters. If she disappeared suddenly and there was no body found, they'd assume that we were keeping her hostage, and they'd want to come and rescue her. The last thing we want is to attract the Order here."

"We'll interrogate her first," Bellatrix said. "Then, after we're sure that we've extracted all useful information from her, I'll dispose of her. We can take the body somewhere else. We can hide in down Knockturn Alley. The Order will think that we attacked her there." "Are you completely sure that there isn't another way to question her besides the Cruciatus Curse?" asked Crouch. "Torturing information out of Order members didn't prove to be very useful the last time you tried it."

Nymphadora Tonks had turned to face Draco. She gave him a long, pitiful and frightened look. He felt a surge of sympathy fill him. Despite everything that he'd been told about the Order, Draco couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She was his cousin; she was family. He couldn't just let his aunt hurt her.

"Why are you suddenly so against me using the Cruciatus Curse?" groaned Bellatrix. "How many times must I tell you that we have no other options?" Crouch shook his head. "If she loses her mind halfway through your little interrogation, don't say that nobody warned you." he muttered. Bellatrix ignored him. She looked down at Nymphadora Tonks with a look of pure rancor and disgust. "Nymphadora Tonks, why are you here?" she questioned. "Who sent you?" "That's none of your business, Bella," Nymphadora replied. "And I'd prefer that you don't call me Nymphadora." "How dare you!" screamed Bellatrix. "Answer me!" Bellatrix raised her wand. Tonks gave Draco another pathetic look. "Don't." said Draco, before his aunt could say the incantation.

Immediately, everyone turned to stare at Draco. Bellatrix was fuming. "How dare you defend her!" she yelled. "How dare you tell me what to do?" She pointed her wand at Draco. "No, Bella!" screamed Narcissa. "Draco's never been in this sort of situation before, and he's never seen an Unforgivable Curse used on anyone before." "He saw me use it on a spider once." remarked Crouch. Narcissa paid no attention to him. "Draco doesn't know what he's saying." said Narcissa quickly. "He should know not to defend disgusting blood-traitors who are in the Order!" shouted Bellatrix. "He should know to keep his mouth shut in times like this!" "Bella, please," said Narcissa. "It won't happen again."

Bellatrix glanced at Draco, and reluctantly pointed her wand back at Nymphadora Tonks. Bellatrix was furious now, and Draco thought that he'd probably only made things worse for Tonks. "Why did you come here?" Bellatrix yelled at Tonks. "Did the Order of the Phoenix…" She was interrupted by a shrill scream. Amanda Annen had crumpled to the ground. Her sister helped her to her feet again, and looked around to see who had cursed her.

"Over there!" shrieked Sky Lorrel, pointing over Draco's shoulder. Draco whipped around to see a group of about eight people. Instinctively, he took out his wand, although he had no idea what spell he'd use if someone attacked him. The other Death Eaters had done the same. The group of people came closer. Now, Draco could see their faces, but he recognized none of them. Tonks grinned. "I brought a few friends with me." she said.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The group of people was close enough now, that Draco could see that they too had their wands out. None of the Death Eaters moved, and nobody attempted to attack anyone. "Why have you come here?" demanded Bellatrix. "Oh, I think that you know very well why we decided to pay you a little visit." said one of the people approaching them. The speaker was a man, with a deep and hoarse voice. As he came nearer, Draco saw that he was a thickset, tall man with neat brown hair.

"I see," said Barty Crouch, glaring at the man. "You've come here to murder… well, it seems that you are out of luck, since most of us here don't fancy dying today." "Who are you?" growled the man. "Don't you recognize my voice?" said Crouch. "Strange, I thought that you'd remember the voice of the man whom you've tried to kill at least five times." The thickset man was now only a few feet away from Crouch, and compared to Crouch, who was the most haggard and thin looking man Draco had ever seen, he looked like a giant. The two stood with their wands pointed at each other. "How many people from the Order have you brought with you?" asked Crouch, glancing at the group of people. They were all slowly coming closer. "I think we've talked enough." said the man. "Yes," replied Crouch. "I agree. _Petrificus Totalus_!"

The man swished his wand and deflected the spell. As though they had been given a signal to attack, the group of people began to cast curses in all directions. Draco didn't hear exactly which incantation each of them said, but he knew that the jets of light heading towards him and the other Death Eaters were not innocuous spells. Not knowing how to block the curses magically, he ducked and fell to his knees. The jets of light zoomed over his head. He heard a shrill scream and followed by someone cursing.

He stayed low to the ground. The grass was tall enough to conceal him. He heard another shriek, and winced. He hoped that none of the other Death Eaters had been wounded, or worse. He knew that he couldn't stay still, lying down in the grass for the whole fight. Someone from the Order was sure to come and find him. Draco slowly began to stand up, but ducked back down again when a great burst of fire shot out from someone's wand, and nearly hit him.

"What are you doing on the ground?"

Draco jumped and saw Carrie Annen staring at him. "I almost tripped over you," she said. "What exactly are you trying to do?" "I was trying to avoid being hit in the face by a curse." replied Draco. "Have you seen Amanda?" asked Carrie. "No." said Draco. Carrie groaned. She started to leave, but turned around again. "Why are you still lying there?" she asked. "Why aren't you getting up so that you can help us?" "I doubt that I'll be of much help," sighed Draco. "I don't really know that many curses."

"You have to at least try!" cried Carrie. "There are nine people from the Order here. I counted. We're outnumbered if you don't even make an effort to fight! You don't have to use curses. You can just jinx a few people. It'll distract some Order members long enough for someone to stun them." "Honestly, I'd like to help, but I think that it would be best if I stayed out of the battle." said Draco.

"Draco, please!"

"I'm just going to be in the way."

"You've got to…"

"Go find you sister."

"You've got to at least jinx one person!"

"I don't think I can. They're fully trained wizards, Carrie. I still have two more years at Hogwarts."

"Draco, you're a Death Eater! You have the Dark Mark on your arm, don't you?"

"No I don't. Not yet at least."

"But you're related to four Death Eaters! You have to join the fight."

"Carrie, I already told you, I won't be…"

"You don't have a choice, Draco. Go and make yourself useful!"

Draco still didn't think that he would really be of much use if he joined the battle and immediately got himself killed, but he got up anyway. Carrie smiled and said, "I have to go and find my sister. I think that I saw your aunt and mother dueling some people over by the lake." With that, she ran off.

Draco did not follow her. He looked around and spotted five people engaged in a duel near the lake. He started to sprint towards them, but he didn't get far. He hadn't taken ten steps before his wand flew into the air and landed somewhere in the tall grass. Before Draco could retrieve it, someone grabbed him. He looked up and saw the stocky man whom Barty Crouch had attempted to curse earlier. Draco struggled. The man grunted when Draco kicked him, but refused to let go. Draco shouted for help, but with a flick of the man's wand, his screams were muffled.

Two other people were walking towards them. The man called to them, and they hurried over. One of the two was Nymphadora Tonks, who had got away from Bellatrix when the battle ensued. The other was a woman in pale pink robes. She had short dark brown hair, and wore an excessive amount of make-up. "Who do you have there?" she asked in a saccharine sweet voice. "Someone, that you may be interested in, Evelyn." replied the man who had grabbed Draco.

"Is he a Death Eater, Damien?" asked the woman called Evelyn. She came closer, and beckoned to Tonks to follow. "I haven't checked yet." replied the man. He yanked up Draco's left sleeve roughly. "No Dark Mark." he said quietly. "Do you have any idea who he is?" inquired Evelyn. "No." answered Damien. "I don't believe I've ever seen him." said Evelyn, frowning. "Tonks, do you know who this is?" "Draco Malfoy," replied Tonks. "I'm sure of it."

"Draco Malfoy." murmured Evelyn. She came nearer and looked at Draco carefully. "Yes," she murmured. "Now I see the resemblance. You look a lot like your father, boy." "Will he be worth questioning?" asked Damien. "Of course he's worth interrogating!" said Evelyn. There was a clear note of excitement in her voice. She looked around. "None of the Death Eaters have noticed that we have him," she said. "But, I doubt that they'll be oblivious of the fact that he's gone for long. We'd better get along with questioning him." "And what do we do once we're done with that?" asked Damien. "That's obvious isn't it?" replied Evelyn. "Now, I have some very important questions that I need to ask."

She turned to Draco and smiled at him. "Draco," she said. "All you need to do is answer a few questions. I'm sure that you will be able to…" "I won't be telling you anything." said Draco. Evelyn's smile faded slightly, but when she spoke, her voice was still serene. "We'll see about that, Draco," she said. "Now, tell me; is this the Headquarters of the Death Eaters? How long do you and your family plan to stay here?" Draco did not reply.

Evelyn sighed. "I see that they have already told you not to trust people like me," she muttered. "All I'm asking for are a few simple answers. Just tell me now, and it'll all end quickly, and painlessly." "And I told you that you're not going to get any answers!" snapped Draco. "You're an audacious one, Draco," said Evelyn. "You remind me a lot of the young Death Eaters years ago. Most of them didn't last very long, Draco. I'll give you one last opportunity to answer me. Is it true that this is the Headquarters of the Death Eaters?"

She was evidently getting more and more impatient. Draco only scowled at her. Without warning, Evelyn whipped out her wand. "ANSWER ME!" she shrieked. "CRUCIO!"

The curse hit him. Instantly, the pain came. Draco fell to the ground, screaming. It was excruciating. It felt as though his bones were being slowly torn apart, and his whole body was being cut to pieces. A few seconds later, the pain stopped as quickly as it had come. Draco was lying on the ground, breathing heavily and shaking. "I will repeat my question," said Evelyn, calmly. "Is this the…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence before her wand flew out of her hand onto the grass. Evelyn whipped around to see who had disarmed her, and saw Sky Lorrel, rushing towards them. She was followed by Barty Crouch, Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy. "Sky?" said Evelyn. When Sky came close enough to see who she had disarmed, all color drained from her face. "You joined them?" she murmured. "Yes," said Evelyn. "I have now officially become a member of the Order of the Phoenix." Sky said nothing. "Curse me," said Evelyn. "I want to see whether you have the guts to attack your own sister." Sky stood, with her wand aimed at Evelyn, but she did not say any incantation.

Evelyn grinned and said, "Very well; I will do the honors of casting the first curse. Cruci…" Before she could complete the incantation, there was an explosion, followed by several badly aimed stunning spells cast by Sky. Draco lifted his head to see the blue beam of light of a stunning spell speeding towards him. In a split second, he was unconscious.

**Author's Note: I know that the Order of the Phoenix would never act like this in the actual book series. I mainly made the Aurors/Order members this way because this story is from the Death Eaters' perspective and the roles are reversed. Please review!**


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"What happened to him?"

"A couple of Aurors were trying to interrogate him. They probably used the Cruciatus Curse."

"Did he tell them anything?"

"I don't know."

"Honestly, Mulciber! The poor boy was just tortured and all you care about is that he didn't give away any information?"

"It's not like it's unusual for the Order to torture people."

"Mulciber's right about that, Sky. Don't you remember the first war? I'd say that the boy is lucky that they didn't kill him, but on the other hand, he'd have to answer all of their questions before they killed him. Maybe that means that he didn't give anything away. They were still trying to extract information from him when we came. Wait, no; maybe they just had a lot of questions to ask, and they only got through half of…"

"Really, Avery, we'd love to hear all of your theories about what happened, but do you really have to talk for an hour at a time?"

Draco awoke to a conversation between four people. He recognized the voices of Barty Crouch and Sky Lorrel, but he had never heard the voices of the two other people. Draco opened his eyes and saw the group of people gathered in his bedroom. Barty Crouch was pacing back and forth, staring down at the floor. He had a long gash on his face that ran from the bottom of his left eye lid to his upper lip. Sky Lorrel was busy with an assortment of potions. Next to her were two men. Both of them were thin and filthy.

One had sandy brown hair and pointed features. His eyes darted around the room nervously, but he was grinning and looked rather excited. The other man wore a sullen expression and stared blankly at the wall. His face was lined, and he had dark, untidy hair. His eyes landed on Draco. "Your patient is awake, Sky." he said. "Someone, go and get his mother and aunt." said Sky, not looking up from her tray of potions. Barty Crouch stopped pacing and left the room.

The sullen man got up and walked over to Draco's bed. "Did you tell the Order anything, boy?" he demanded. "No." said Draco. "Then, how did they know who you were?" questioned the man. He sounded irritated, but Draco could see no reason for him to be angry. "Nymphadora Tonks told them." answered Draco. "Why didn't you lie?" demanded the man. "Mulciber, leave Draco alone," groaned Sky. "He's been through enough."

"I agree with Sky," said the other man. "I know that you've got a few things against Lucius, but that doesn't mean that you should take it out on Draco. Draco is Lucius's son, right, Sky? They really do look similar, don't they? Draco reminds me so much of Lucius when he was a teenager. Yes, I remember Lucius strutting around with his prefect badge. Lucius was a prefect, right? You were one too weren't…"

"I could see the resemblance from a mile away," interrupted the man called Mulciber. "He has Lucius's revolting white-blonde hair and traitorous grey eyes…"

"Please, Mulciber," sighed Sky. "Not now." She carried the tray of potions to Draco's bedside.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Tired." said Draco.

"Do you feel stressed or slightly ill?"

"Yes."

"That's typical. I have something that might help you."

She took out a bottle of pale blue liquid and poured some of it into a small glass. She handed it to him and said, "Drink it. It'll make you feel better. I'd recommend gulping it down. The taste is sort of… strange." Draco took her advice. The potion tasted something like ice and pepper. He coughed, but managed to swallow the whole glass. "In a few minutes, it should work." said Sky.

She turned around to face the two men. "Ah, of course!" she exclaimed. "Introductions! Draco, this is Mr. Avery and Mr. Mulciber. They just broke out of Azkaban and came here after the Order left…"

"I think that 'Mr.' sounds a little bit too formal," said the man with the sandy brown hair. "Just call me Avery. Just don't call me by my first name, James. Ever since I went to school with James Potter at Hogwarts, I've asked everyone to never call me by my first name. James Potter… he and his bunch of friends were always bothering the Slytherins at school, especially Severus. Poor Severus… I remember the time when..."

"Avery," groaned Sky. "You can finish your story another time."

"I'm not too fond of being called 'Mr. Mulciber'," said the other man. "I'd rather just be referred to as 'sir' or something like that. In fact, I'd rather that the boy doesn't talk to me at all."

At that moment, Narcissa Malfoy ran into the room. Immediately, she hurried over to Draco.

"Draco!" she cried. "Are you alright? What did they do to you? We heard your screams and we came as soon as we could!"

"I'm fine." Draco lied. He was still aching a little and he did feel a bit sick, however, he was beginning to feel slightly better. The potion that Sky had given him was definitely working.

"Where's Bellatrix?" asked Sky. "I thought that she'd want to see whether Draco was alright."

"Bellatrix?" said Narcissa. "Oh, she's busy with something downstairs. I don't know what it is. She refused to come upstairs."

"This is Bellatrix Lestrange we're talking about," said Mulciber. "I don't think she really cares about whether Draco's fine or not. If there was something that she considered extremely important, Draco could be bleeding to death, and she would barely notice."

"She didn't pay much attention to me when_ I_ was bleeding to death," added Avery. "I recall Sky trying to heal my leg that night. Mulciber was standing by my bedside, saying something to me. I don't know whether you were there, Narcissa, but Bellatrix was. We were at our old Headquarters, and the Dark Lord was there. Bellatrix just wanted to be around the Dark Lord. She knew that I was injured, but she barely noticed me. I think that she was just irritated by all of the noise that the three of us were making. I guess that…"

"I'm sure that Bella is concerned about Draco," said Narcissa before Avery could continue. "He's her nephew. Whatever she's busy with downstairs, is probably something very urgent."

Suddenly, the door burst open and Bellatrix sprinted in. She looked elated. "The Dark Lord is here!" she shrieked.

"What?" exclaimed Narcissa.

"He's here! The Dark Lord has just arrived!" screamed Bellatrix.

No one else seemed as enthusiastic about this as Bellatrix. Avery's grin faded and he was now very pale. Narcissa and Sky looked worried. Mulciber's expression did not change.

"Does the Dark Lord wish to see any of us?" he asked.

"He wants to meet with everyone here who has the Dark Mark," said Bellatrix. "Draco, he wants you to come also. Cissy, you may come if you please."

"What does the Dark Lord want Draco for?" demanded Narcissa.

Bellatrix shrugged. "I'm not completely sure," she said. "I think that he probably just wants Draco to become one of us."

"You're sure that the Dark Lord wants to see _everyone_ with the Dark Mark?" asked Avery.

"Yes, I am absolutely sure." replied Bellatrix, frowning at him.

With that, she darted out of the room. Avery sighed, got up and limped to the door. He was followed by Mulciber and Sky Lorrel.

"Come, Draco." muttered Narcissa. She helped him to get up and led him down the spiral staircase. Draco gulped. He was sure that if Bellatrix was so thrilled, whatever the Dark Lord wanted to see him for was not going to be particularly pleasant.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The atmosphere at Headquarters was especially gloomy that day; not to say that the ambiance was ever really bright and cheerful. The hallways and corridors were nearly empty. The only two people who hadn't gone to meet the Dark Lord were Sky Lorrel and Amanda Annen. As Draco passed them, Amanda said to Sky, "How come _he_ gets to go to Death Eater meetings. He's not even a Death Eater!"

"I think that he's about to become one," said Sky. "And you're not of age yet, Amanda. You can become a Death Eater once you're of age."

"Draco's not of age either!" retorted Amanda. "And my sister became a Death Eater a few months before she was seventeen!"

"Well, you're ten," said Sky. "And I've never heard of anyone becoming a Death Eater at the age of ten. I'm more than triple your age and I don't have the Dark Mark on my left arm."

Narcissa led Draco to a large room. There was a fireplace that had been reduced to a few coals and several arm chairs. The other Death Eaters were assembled in a small circle. In the center, a cloaked figure raised its head.

"Draco," said the figure in a cold whisper. "You may come in."

Slowly, Draco entered and made his way over to the circle of Death Eaters. The figure turned to face him. Draco looked into the narrow blood-red eyes of the Dark Lord for a few seconds, but quickly looked away. The Dark Lord's features were unlike any human that Draco had ever seen. His skin was nearly white and he had slits for nostrils. There was a huge snake coiled around the Dark Lord's feet.

"Come closer, Draco." commanded the Dark Lord.

The Death Eaters parted and Draco walked into the center of the circle. A few of the Death Eaters began to murmur to each other, but they immediately fell silent when the Dark Lord began to speak.

"I believe that you plan on following your father and joining us, Draco." hissed the Dark Lord.

Draco nodded. He had known for a long time now that he was expected to become a Death Eater. Narcissa wouldn't have brought him to the headquarters of the Death Eaters if she hadn't expected him to become one. Draco was almost certain that if his father had been standing beside his mother at that moment, he would have wanted Draco to join the Death Eaters.

"It has become apparent to me that quite a few of my followers do not understand exactly what I expect from my servants," said the Dark Lord. "Many did not understand when they joined that I expect eternal loyalty from them no matter what the circumstances are. Many of my servants abandoned me when I needed them and many of them have not yet repaid their debt. A few of these Death Eaters are in this room. A few of them are now imprisoned, including one whom you have blood relation to. Now, Draco, do you swear to give me this eternal loyalty?"

"Yes." said Draco, softly.

The whole conversation was making him feel very uncomfortable, especially when his father was mentioned. It had been months since he'd last seen his father.

"Hold out your left arm." commanded the Dark Lord.

Draco obeyed. The Dark Lord grabbed Draco's arm and rolled up the sleeve of Draco's robes. The Dark Lord's hands felt as cold as ice. He took out a long white wand and muttered something that sounded like an incantation. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in Draco's left arm. He winced. It felt as though a knife was carving something in his skin, but there was no blood. It only lasted for a few seconds before it stopped abruptly.

Draco looked down at the crook of his arm and saw that the Dark Mark had been branded into his skin. He stared down at it.

"You are probably aware that if you feel the Dark Mark burn on your left arm, you are to apparate to my side." said the Dark Lord. He turned to the watching Death Eaters.

"Bella," he said, staring at Bellatrix. "I'm sure that you can be responsible for Draco's training in the Dark Arts."

"Of course, my Lord." replied Bellatrix.

"And, if you are in need of assistance," said the Dark Lord. "I'm sure that Crouch here would be delighted to help you, or perhaps Mulciber." Draco honestly didn't think that Mulciber was the type of person who'd be delighted about anything.

"Now, our meeting is concluded." said the Dark Lord.

The other Death Eaters quickly and silently left the room. Draco started to head towards the door, but the Dark Lord said, "Draco, I wish to have a private word with you and your family."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Draco quickly sat down in one of the arm chairs. He was still clutching his left arm where the Dark Mark had been burned into his skin. Bellatrix and Narcissa hurried back into the room. Bellatrix looked even more ecstatic, whereas Narcissa looked like she was dreading something.

"Draco," began the Dark Lord. "There is a man whom I am sure you've heard of. He is the leader and founder of the Order of the Phoenix. He is also currently the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I believe that you are still attending Hogwarts, aren't you?"

"Yes," said Draco. "I'm going to be starting my sixth year in September."

"Many Death Eaters can only dream of having the honor of killing Albus Dumbledore," continued the Dark Lord. "And I have decided who will be assigned this mission. Do you know who that Death Eater is, Draco?"

Draco shook his head. The Dark Lord smiled unpleasantly. The gigantic snake on the floor slithered closer to the Dark Lord and lifted its head. The Dark Lord stroked it as if it were a dog.

"The person who has been assigned this task," said the Dark Lord. "Is you, Draco."

Narcissa gasped. Bellatrix glared at her and hissed, "Be quiet!" The Dark Lord ignored both of them.

"It does not matter how you choose to assassinate Dumbledore," continued the Dark Lord. "While at Hogwarts, you must also find a way for Death Eaters to enter the school undetected. This must all happen by the end of this school year. If you succeed, you and your family shall be rewarded. However, there have been far too many failures as far as your family is concerned and I have no use for followers who cannot serve me properly. If you fail this task, you and your family will be disposed of."

"My Lord," protested Bellatrix. "Lucius has nothing to do with me. I have always been faithful…"

"If Draco fails," said the Dark Lord. "The punishment will not concern you, Bella."

Bellatrix immediately sat back down and returned to her state of silent excitement.

"Do you understand the task that you have been assigned, Draco?" asked the Dark Lord, turning to Draco.

"Yes." murmured Draco. When Bellatrix frowned at him, he corrected himself, "Yes, my Lord."

"Good," said the Dark Lord. "None of you are to tell any of this to anyone. You and your family may go now, Draco."

Draco gulped and got up. He hastily left the room. He was even paler than usual now. He was still in a state of shock and horror, and the thought of what he was expected to do made him feel sick and frightened. He passed several other Death Eaters on the way upstairs, but he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. He ran upstairs and locked himself in his bedroom.

Sky Lorrel's assortment of potions was still sitting on a table by the side of his bed. The bottle containing the potion that she had given him earlier that day was still there. It was labeled "Calming Draught." Draco felt like he would need to swallow the whole bottle to calm his nerves. He lay down flat on his bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering why in the world the Dark Lord would ask a teenage boy who had just become a Death Eater minutes ago to do something so challenging and so important.

There was a knock at the door. "Draco!" called Bellatrix from the other side of the door. "Unlock the door! I want to talk to you about a few things!"

Draco slowly made his way towards the door and let Bellatrix in.

"Where's my mother?" asked Draco.

Bellatrix shrugged and replied, "Somewhere downstairs." She beamed at him and Draco smiled back at her, nervously.

"We're very proud of you, Draco!" she exclaimed. "You're so young, and yet you are already starting to serve the Dark Lord. You understand what a privilege this is, don't you?"

"Yes." Draco lied.

"And despite the fact that you have only become a Death Eater today," continued Bellatrix. "You have already been assigned an extremely important mission!"

Draco said nothing. He definitely didn't feel honored by what had happened and he certainly was not thrilled about becoming a Death Eater. He wanted to be alone. He wished that Bellatrix would leave.

"Your mother and I are delighted that you are now a Death Eater," said Bellatrix, gesturing towards Draco's left arm where the Dark Mark had been branded onto his skin. "And your uncles would be as pleased about it as I am if they knew."

She sighed and laughed. Draco said nothing in response. Bellatrix stayed by his bed for a few more minutes, talking about how great of a privilege it was to serve the Dark Lord. Finally, Draco told her that he'd like to go to bed and she left.

As soon as Bellatrix closed the door, Draco locked it again and began to pace back and forth, thinking about his mission. After a while, Draco decided that there was no point in accepting the fact that he and his family were most likely doomed. He would try to device and carry out an assassination plan, even if it would be extremely difficult.

Draco did not by any means want to murder anyone, but his life and the lives of the people he loved and cared about were at risk. Draco didn't believe that his family or the Dark Lord expected him to succeed, but he would at least try to prove them wrong. It was not like Draco to simply accept failure, and that wasn't really an option anyway.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

In a few hours, the Dark Lord had left for an unknown location and almost everyone had gone to bed. Narcissa informed Draco that his training with Bellatrix would start at seven o'clock in the morning the next day before she hurried off to her bedroom, which was on the fourth floor. Draco was unable to sleep.

The thought of his mission kept him awake. He was having trouble developing an assassination plan. He didn't know where to start and every time an idea came to mind, he'd quickly realize that it wasn't logical or it was just plain stupid.

It was past midnight when Draco heard sobbing from the room next to his. He had never really paid much attention to who occupied the rooms around him. The crying was soft, but it was definitely audible. He heard a door creek open and the weeping stopped abruptly.

"Barty?" came Sky Lorrel's voice from the other room. There was shuffling and footsteps. Draco listened through the wall.

"I just heard you," said Crouch. "And I wanted to check that you were alright."

"That's kind of you, Barty," replied Sky softly. "I was just thinking about what happened today."

"At least no one was killed," Crouch said. "A few people were injured and you did an excellent job healing them, but that's not what's bothering you is it?"

There was a brief silence before Sky said, "No, it's because of her."

Draco didn't know who "her" was, and he was anxious to find out.

"Evelyn?" asked Crouch quietly.

"Yes," said Sky. "My sister…" Her voice trailed off and there was silence again until she continued.

"You never knew her before Hogwarts, Barty," Sky said. "I suppose she was alright at Hogwarts, but before that, well, she was the one of the sweetest people I'd ever met. I know it's hard to believe, but if you had only known her then... we were very close before Hogwarts, Evelyn and I, closer than most siblings are to each other. We lived in a neighborhood full of Muggles. The Muggles didn't understand us, but if any of them teased me, Evelyn would get back at them… well, that is if I didn't get back at them first."

Crouch said nothing, but Draco knew that he was listening intently.

"Maybe it's because I was sorted into Slytherin, and she was in Gryffindor," sighed Sky. "But after Hogwarts we sort of drifted apart. We still talked and joked with each other, but she was increasingly cold towards me. After my first year, we started arguing quite a lot. You were in the same year as me at Hogwarts; you know how I felt about the Gryffindors she was always around. From what I know, majority of them became Aurors and quite a few joined the Order.

"Evelyn didn't approve of my group of friends either. She kept saying that you and the other Slytherins were 'evil' and 'weird.' After Hogwarts, she became an Auror, and I started working with you and the other Death Eaters. She didn't know about that, but she suspected that I'd been using Dark magic. Then, as you know, there was the murder, and after that…"

Sky's voice trailed off. Draco was now up against the wall, eavesdropping. He wanted to hear about the murder.

"I know that she was really depressed after that, and I don't blame her," cried Sky. "But why did she join the Order? After the Dark Lord's downfall, I kept telling her how terrible they are and… and… I still don't understand what happened!" Sky let out another sob and Draco heard Crouch trying to console her.

"Sky," he muttered. "None of it is your fault."

"I know," wailed Sky. "But I'm just afraid that one day I'll be in a battle with the Order and I'll have to…"

"Kill her?" said Crouch.

There was another pause before Sky said, "Yes. Barty, forgive me for bringing this up, but when your father was alive and he was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, weren't you afraid that…"

"That I'd have to fight him?" said Crouch. "Yes, I was, even though we never really got along even before I became a Death Eater. I did fight him and the memories that I have of that duel still haunt me. I understand how you feel about Evelyn, Sky, but it's not your fault that she's who she is today."

"Nor is it your fault that your father is dead," Sky said. "It was a rebounding curse that killed him the day that you dueled him, Barty. You did not murder him."

"But I should have just dodged the curse." muttered Crouch.

"It was only instinct," said Sky. "I wouldn't think before blocking a killing curse cast by Evelyn. I'd be too panicked."

"In a way, I know that, Sky," replied Crouch. "But in a way, it still feels like I murdered him."

"You know what it's like," Sky sighed. "You know how it feels to be fighting for the Death Eaters even though you have family who's adamantly against the Dark Arts."

"Yes, I do," said Crouch. "And I'm sorry that I ever got you involved in all of this."

"Don't be," said Sky. "I can't imagine being with my sister right now, rejoicing whenever one of my old friends from school is murdered. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. It has never been an option for me to remain neutral, and I think that I picked the right side."

"And I'm glad that you picked this side." said Crouch.

There was a long period of silence. Draco was sure that something was going on. He wished that he could see through the wall and watch exactly what was happening. Sky and Crouch started muttering things to each other, but Draco couldn't make out most of what they were saying.

"I'm half-blood, Barty."whispered Sky.

"I know," murmured Crouch. "But your blood status doesn't matter."

After a moment, Sky said, "We should both probably get some sleep."

"You know that I don't sleep if I can help it," said Crouch. "I'm not really tired anyway."

"I know," Sky sighed. "You don't eat very often either… I'll skip telling you it's not healthy, because I know it's no use. Well, good-night, Barty."

"Good-night, Sky." said Crouch.

Draco heard a door close. He hoped that neither Sky nor Crouch would ever find out that he'd been eavesdropping. He still wasn't completely sure what the two of them had been doing, but whatever it was, Draco was almost certain that it had been very private. He speculated for a while about what possibly could have happened in the room next to his, and it took his mind off his mission long enough for him to fall asleep after a few minutes.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Beams of sunlight were streaming into his bedroom when Draco awoke to shouting coming from downstairs. He checked his watch, which was lying by the side of his bed. It was slightly past 8:45 in the morning.

He bolted out of bed when he saw the time. He got dressed as quickly as he could, snatched up his wand and ran downstairs. He should have been downstairs training with his aunt nearly two hours ago, and judging by how angry she sounded, she was probably going to skin him alive for being late.

Draco nearly crashed into Amanda Annen on the way downstairs. He left her standing by her bedroom on the second floor, screaming about how he had almost knocked her over. He met his mother at the bottom of the stairs.

"Your aunt and I have been wondering when you were going to come downstairs." said Narcissa.

"Is she furious?" asked Draco, nervously. He knew that that was a pretty redundant question, since they could hear Bellatrix shrieking very loudly from where they were standing.

"Yes," replied Narcissa. "But I'm not sure whether it's because you're late. She's in the room at the end of the hall." She gestured to the room where Draco had met the Dark Lord the previous day and he quickly went there. He hesitated before knocking on the door.

No one answered. The people in the room were probably yelling too loudly to hear the knock. Draco tried to let himself in, but the door was locked. He knocked again. Still, no one came to the door. He leaned against it and listened to the dispute that was going on inside.

"You still haven't answered my question, Crouch. You're still denying it!" screeched Bellatrix.

"Actually, I've answered the same question at least five times today," came the voice of Barty Crouch. "The problem is not that I am ignoring your question; you just don't like my answer. I am not denying what happened last night either. There would be no point in denying it, since you saw what happened with your own eyes."

"She's half-blood! Her mother was a blood-traitor, her father was a Mudblood, and her brother was a Squib! Sky's blood status couldn't be more contaminated! You're pureblood!" screamed Bellatrix.

"As much as this might surprise you," said Crouch. "It so happens that I have been aware of all of those things for over twenty years now."

"Bella," said someone. "Are you actually surprised by what happened last night? It's not like it's the first time that Sky and Barty have kissed." Draco knew that the speaker was Mulciber by his tired and irritated voice.

"This sort of stuff has been happening since their fifth year at…" came Avery's distinct and chirpy voice, but Bellatrix cut him off.

"Are you saying that you support this, Mucliber?" demanded Bellatrix. "You're pureblood also…"

"I don't really support Barty's relationship with Sky," replied Mulciber. "And in the same way I do not disapprove of it either."

Bellatrix probably wasn't too pleased by Mulciber's answer, but she didn't argue with him.

"I know what you're going to ask, so I'll just answer your question now to save time. The reason that I did what I did last night is because Sky and I love and understand each…" said Crouch.

"I'm surprised that neither of you realized that Bellatrix was watching you," interrupted Avery. "I remember when I was in my seventh year and I went to the Slytherin common room in the evening. It was Christmas time, so the Slytherin common room was very empty. I don't know how you saw me coming in since I'm pretty sure that your back was turned, but when I got there, you and Sky were…"

"Avery," said Mulciber. "You're not really skilled at sneaking by people to begin with, and considering how good Barty is at knowing when someone's watching him, it really isn't that much of a shock that Barty caught you spying on him and Sky that day."

"I was _not_ trying to spy on them," said Avery. "I was just going to the Slytherin Common room when I…"

"Enough of this!" said Crouch. "Bellatrix, your nephew is at the door."

**The next chapter will be posted soon! Review please!**


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The door burst open. Mulciber seized Draco's arm and dragged him inside.

"Eavesdropping!" yelled Mucliber.

"I wouldn't consider it eavesdropping," said Crouch calmly. "Draco was merely listening in on our conversation."

"You do realize that that's the definition of eavesdropping, Barty," snapped Bellatrix. "And why are you trying to defend…"

"I'm not trying to defend anyone, Bellatrix," said Crouch. "I would just like to point out that you did ask Draco to come here for his training, and it is our fault that we didn't answer the door when he knocked to come in. I believe you did knock, didn't you, Draco?"

Draco nodded. Mulciber was still gripping Draco's arm so tightly that it hurt.

"It is therefore our fault, Bellatrix," continued Crouch. "That Draco heard part of our conversation."

Bellatrix scowled at Crouch and said, "I think that I can take care of his training by myself today."

Crouch shrugged. "Very well," he said. "I do not have a strong desire to train the Amazing Bouncing Ferret anyway. I spent a whole year teaching him once, and I think I've had enough."

He left the room followed by Mulciber. Avery limped after them.

"One month," Mulciber muttered to Crouch and Avery. "I give it one month until you have to go find this one's body, Barty. Draco couldn't be discreet if his life depended on it, and the Dark Lord expects _him_ to spy for us at Hogwarts? He'll be dead by the time he steps onto the Hogwarts Express. What a nice surprise Lucius will have to come back to once he escapes Azkaban!"

The door closed behind them, leaving Draco and Bellatrix alone.

"You're late," snapped Bellatrix.

"I know," murmured Draco. "I'm sorry, ma'am."

"Are you going to be late if the Dark Lord calls you?" demanded Bellatrix.

"No, ma'am," replied Draco softly.

"You'd better not be!" said Bellatrix. "Now, do you have your wand, or are you so careless that you forgot it upstairs?"

"I have it," said Draco, holding up his wand.

"Now, let's begin with something basic," said Bellatrix. "Can you tell me the names of the three Unforgivable Curses?"

"The Imperius Curse, The Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse," said Draco. He had heard his family mention the Unforgivable Curses so often that he could recite them without even thinking about what he was saying.

"Tell me the incantations," ordered Bellatrix.

"Imperio, Crucio, and Avada Kedavra," said Draco.

"Now, onto the more difficult part," said Bellatrix. "Let's see if you can perform these curses. I assume that your father never taught you the Dark Arts?"

"No," Draco murmured. He hoped that Bellatrix wouldn't talk too much about his father.

"Just as I thought," Bellatrix muttered to herself. "Someone like Lucius can't even teach their son some basic curses. Very well; we'll start from the beginning." She turned back to Draco.

"We'll start with the Cruciatus Curse," she said. "When performing the Cruciatus Curse, you must focus on causing pain. Think about how much you _want_ to hurt your opponent."

Draco stared at the floor. Bellatrix picked up a small jar. Inside it were a few insects.

"Scarab beetles," said Bellatrix. "They can be used in a few potions, but these will serve a different purpose today. Unfortunately, we do not have any humans to practice the Cruciatus Curse on at the moment. It isn't the same performing it on insects, but it'll be a start."

She dumped the beetles out of the jar, pointed her wand at one of them, and muttered, "Engorgio."

Instantly, the beetle grew four times its normal size. She turned to Draco and said, "Watch me."

Draco knew what she was going to do and he did not want to see the Cruciatus Curse _performed _on anything, even an insect. He nodded at her, but as soon as she said the incantation, he looked down at the floor instead of at the beetle. Beetles can't scream, but Draco knew that it was writhing in pain at the moment.

"You're not watching me!" Bellatrix shouted at him after a while.

Draco looked up at her and said in a voice that was barely audible, "I don't want to see the Cruciatus Curse used on anything."

"Speak up, Draco!" demanded Bellatrix.

Now Draco was wishing that he hadn't said anything. He knew that his aunt was not going to like hearing him protest in any way. He gulped and said slightly louder, "I don't think that I want to see the Cruciatus Curse performed on the beetle."

Without warning, Bellatrix struck Draco hard across the face. He winced and stumbled backwards a little.

"I cannot believe that any nephew of mine could be so weak," she shrieked. "Yesterday, you refused to let me interrogate a filthy half-blood Auror and you disgraced this family by making us seem like a bunch of Order-sympathizing blood-traitors!"

"I'm sorry," murmured Draco. "I just felt a little sorry for Tonks…"

Bellatrix slapped him again and he decided that it would be best if he just kept quiet. He had had no idea that what he had said would make her so furious.

"And today," Bellatrix continued, looking at him with contempt. "You can't even bare to see the Cruciatus Curse used on a _beetle_… and are you telling me that you actually sympathized with her? Are you going to become a blood-traitor like your other aunt and disgrace this family farther? How am I supposed to teach you how to be a Death Eater when you can't even stand to witness the use of an Unforgivable Curse? How am…"

The door opened and Narcissa came in.

"What happened?" she asked, sounding alarmed.

"Your son has been resisting my methods of training!" screamed Bellatrix. "I don't know whether I can possibly teach him anything if he won't even watch me perform the Cruciatus Curse on an animal!"

"Bella, please!" said Narcissa. "He just isn't used to seeing the Unforgivable Curse…"

"He had one used on him yesterday due to his carelessness yesterday!" shouted Bellatrix.

"Well," Narcissa said, coldly. "Maybe that's why he doesn't want to see the Cruciatus Curse used, and he was not 'careless', Bella. People older than him have been captured by the Order and…"

"But he probably didn't even put up a good fight!" shrieked Bellatrix. "Stop making excuses for him. He is a shame to this family, Cissy…"

"Don't you dare call my son a shame…" started Narcissa, but Bellatrix was heading towards the door.

"He sympathizes with the Order!" yelled Bellatrix. "I am not going to put up with training someone who is so pathetic and is a blood-traitor on top of it!"

"Bella, please! He's your nephew!" pleaded Narcissa, but Bellatrix had stormed out of the room.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Narcissa hurried out the door after Bellatrix. The door closed behind them and Draco was left alone. He sank into one of the chairs and felt his face where Bellatrix had hit him. It definitely hurt, but when compared to the Cruciatus Curse, it wasn't too bad at all. After all, it wasn't the first time he'd been hit anyway, but Draco didn't want to remember those incidents with his father.

He didn't want to think about his father at all. He didn't even want to remember the good memories of his father. Remembering those times would only remind him how much he missed his father. Remembering them wouldn't do him any good.

He could hear his mother and Bellatrix shouting in the hallway, but he didn't know what they were saying. He hoped that Bellatrix would decide to come back and mentor him, even if it meant that she insulted him and slapped him. He _needed_ to learn the Dark Arts. If he didn't, how was he supposed to assassinate Albus Dumbledore?

After a few minutes, the door opened, but it wasn't Bellatrix or his mother who came in. In fact, when Draco looked up, it appeared that no one had come in. He heard something small running across the floor. He looked down, expecting to see Sky Lorrel's crup, but instead, he saw a ferret-like creature.

It was bigger than a normal ferret and had markings above its eyes that gave it cross expression. Its fur was a shade of light brown and it had green eyes. Draco had never seen a ferret with green eyes before. It stared at him before scampering off under a chair. He crouched down on the ground and looked under the chair. There was nothing there.

"What are you searching for?"

Draco jumped and bumped his head on the edge of the chair. He looked up and saw Carrie Annen lounging in an armchair. He hadn't heard her come in and he didn't know how she could possibly move fast enough to slip by him in a few seconds without making a sound.

"I was just looking for a strange animal that I saw come in," said Draco, rubbing his head. "It sort of looked like a ferret…"

"Never mind that," said Carrie.

"But you asked…" started Draco.

"I said never mind it," said Carrie firmly. "I just came in here because I heard your aunt yelling at you. What happened?"

"She was training me," said Draco. "And I said something that upset her."

"Upset" was far too mild a term. Draco looked at Carrie, suspiciously. He'd only met her yesterday. He didn't want to tell her the details about what his aunt had done when she became "upset" and most of all, he didn't want to tell her what his aunt had said to him. For all he knew, she could have been eavesdropping the whole time and she could have heard everything. He highly suspected that.

"What was she trying to teach you?" asked Carrie. "Are you alright? Bellatrix sounded pretty angry."

"The Cruciatus Curse," replied Draco. "And I'm completely fine." The "completely" part was a lie. He hoped that she wouldn't ask him to elaborate.

"Haven't you already learned the Cruciatus Curse?" Carrie asked. "You're sixteen aren't you? You turned sixteen June the fifth."

"I am sixteen," said Draco. "And no, I haven't learned the Cruciatus Curse yet." He still didn't know exactly how Carrie had known his age before they had ever met. He had never mentioned his age to her. He had never told her his birthday either and he didn't see any reason why his mother would tell Carrie the date of his birth. As for his aunt, she probably didn't even know or care how old he was.

"Oh," said Carrie, sounding surprised.

"When did you learn the Cruciatus Curse?" asked Draco. Most people that he knew of had never learned an Unforgivable Curse, or had only learned the Unforgivable Curses after they'd graduated Hogwarts.

"I learned the Cruciatus Curse when I was twelve, I believe," replied Carrie. "And I believe that I learned the Imperius Curse some time before my first year at Hogwarts. My brothers thought me that one."

Draco didn't know whether to believe her or not. If it had been anyone else, he would have decided that they were lying immediately, but Carrie was different. She and Amanda seemed to be at Headquarters without any parents, and they'd probably been living with the Death Eaters for a very long time. It sort of made sense that they would learn the Unforgivable Curses at a very young age.

Carrie seemed to know that he didn't completely believe her.

"You think I'm lying," she said. "Well, I can't really blame you. From what I've heard, you've never been exposed to this sort of life before now. We like to start training as early as possible." She rolled up her left sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark burned onto her skin.

"And you're one of us now, aren't you?" she said, smiling.

Draco clutched his left arm. Carrie laughed. Draco frowned. There was nothing amusing about the Dark Mark.

"You looked so stunned when I mentioned it," said Carrie. "I suppose it does come as a bit of a shock to those who aren't used to all of this. You'll be used to it soon." Draco didn't really know what she was talking about.

"Congratulations, Draco," she said suddenly.

"What?" said Draco. Now he was really baffled.

"Congratulations on becoming a Death Eater of course!" replied Carrie laughing again.

"Thank you." muttered Draco. To him, becoming a Death Eater was nothing to be congratulated on.

The door opened again, and both of them turned to the doorway. Mulciber was standing there. Avery was behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Mulciber asked.

"I was…" began Draco.

"Not _you_," barked Mulciber.

"I just wanted to see Draco," said Carrie. "I heard shouting and I wanted to check that he was alright."

"How kind of you," said Mulciber in a bored tone. "Budding friendship is always so sweet... now, Draco's mother has asked me to cover his training for today since, for now at least, his aunt cannot tolerate his behavior without slapping him. She needs a bit of time to settle down and realize what she's dealing with. I myself think that she could have done much worse if Narcissa hadn't intervened. I have agreed to teach Draco, however, I'd prefer to do it privately."

"And I'm here to make sure that he doesn't do more harm to Draco than Bella when he becomes frustrated!" chimed in Avery. He limped into the room.

"Alright," said Carrie. "Good-bye, Draco." With that, she left Draco alone with Avery and Mulciber. Draco gulped. Somehow, he didn't think that being trained by Mulciber would be a very pleasant experience.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Mulciber slammed the door shut the moment Carrie left. He stalked over to the pile of coals in the fireplace, and with a flick of his wand, flames appeared. He turned to Draco.

"You were learning the Cruciatus Curse today, weren't you?" he said.

"Yes, sir," replied Draco softly.

"Did she tell you about the basic things to look out for when you're fighting the Order?" asked Mulciber.

"I don't know what you mean, sir," said Draco.

Mulciber's cold dark eyes were fixed on Draco. He shook his head and sighed.

"Your incompetent father never went over what you need to know to win a duel, now did he?" Mulciber asked.

"No, sir," said Draco. So far, he did not like Mulciber one bit.

"Well, your father was an imbecile," muttered Mulciber.

If anyone else had said that, Draco would have yelled at them, but Mulciber was a Death Eater. There were a few things that he had known about Death Eaters years before he came to Headquarters. One of those things was that Death Eaters were not the type of people you wanted to argue with, unless you enjoyed pain or had a death wish.

"Here's some advice that I highly recommend you follow," said Mulciber. "The most important thing is this: you need to have some kind of strategy, and in order to have a strategy, you need to know your opponent. You need to be aware of their weaknesses, strengths and a few of their unusual qualities. The people in the Order have many interesting qualities that link to the way they fight. Do you understand that?"

Draco nodded.

"For example," Mulciber continued. "There's a retired Auror who is also in the Order. His name is Alastor Moody, better known as Mad-Eye Moody. You've heard of him, haven't you?"

Draco nodded again. Of course he knew who Mad-Eye Moody was. Mad-Eye had often been in the _Daily Prophet_. He was also the Auror whom Barty Crouch Jr. had once impersonated.

"He has quite a few interesting prosthetics," said Mulciber. "I'm sure you know about his magical eye. He can see through solid objects, he can see things that are behind him. It's very hard to sneak anything past Moody."

"But if you dump a whole bag of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder," added Avery. "He won't be able to see through that. I've tried it once before. It's actually a very interesting story, Draco. I…"

"You can tell the story later, Avery," said Mulciber impatiently. "Another example is Evelyn Savage."

"She married someone with an appropriate last name, that's for sure," Avery chimed in. Mulciber glared at him.

"As I was saying," continued Mulciber. "Evelyn has quite a few bizarre characteristics. She cannot stand the sight of blood, even if it is only a single drop. It repulses her. From what I've seen, it scares her for some reason also. This is a bit of a dilemma for her, whenever she tries to murder someone."

"So, she doesn't _enjoy_ killing, right?" asked Draco, hoping that the answer would be yes, but from what he had heard about the Order, he expected that Mulciber would respond negatively.

Mulciber laughed, unpleasantly.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "She certainly wants to kill. She wants to kill Dark Wizards and people associated with the Dark Arts specifically. She relishes murder, more than the average Auror. You can see it in her eyes when she wins a duel. She prefers not to spill blood when she murders, but that conflicts with another one of her traits, can you guess what that is, Draco?"

Draco shook his head.

"Yesterday," said Mulciber. "When she interrogated you, I think that the Cruciatus Curse probably hurt more than it would if it had been performed by someone else. Let's say that Avery over there used the Cruciatus Curse on you. I guarantee you that it would not be half as bad as what Evelyn did to you yesterday, boy. I can assure you that it would be painful, but the power of that particular curse depends on how sadistic the person using it is."

"Are you asking me to use the Cruciatus Curse so that Draco can learn from experience?" asked Avery. "I'd be happy to do so."

He glanced over at Draco and saw the look of horror on the boy's face.

"I'm only joking, Draco," said Avery laughing.

"Evelyn takes pleasure in causing pain to those she hates," said Mulciber. "Your aunt is another person who can perform a powerful Cruciatus Curse, if she's upset with you. Be careful when you are fighting people who are like that. For someone like Evelyn, the Killing Curse would probably be the best way to murder someone. However, the Killing Curse causes _painless_ death.

"In most cases, if you want to make sure someone dies a painful death, there's going to be at least some blood. Therefore Evelyn is in a way caught between her fear of the sight of blood and her sadism. As for your cousin, she's a metamorphmagus. She can change her appearance. She doesn't need polyjuice potion to disguise herself. Her weakness is her clumsiness, sort of like Avery."

"Well, she didn't get her leg torn to shreds when she was twenty now did she?" said Avery indignantly.

"You were a klutz before your leg was injured," said Mulciber. "And I lived with you when we were children so you can't deny it. Now, Draco, there is something very important that I must warn you about concerning the Order.

"As far as the Order is concerned, Draco, you are a more important target than me, or Avery, or Barty. To them, you are more important to kill than anyone else here, with exception of Carrie and Amanda Annen. Do you know why that is, boy?"

Draco shook his head and said in a voice that was barely audible, "Why do they think that?" He didn't know whether he really wanted to know the answer.

"You're young, Draco," said Mulciber. "You are currently the youngest Death Eater, and I believe that no one has ever joined the Death Eaters at such an early age. That is why they want you dead."

Draco didn't understand Mulciber's answer at all. Mulciber noticed his confusion.

"The Order will do anything to prevent there from being another generation of Death Eaters," said Mulciber. "There have already been two generations, they're worst fear is that there will be a third. You would be in the third generation. Right now, you are naïve, vulnerable, inexperienced and very _very_ easy to kill. A few years from now, that may change, but I doubt it. The Order would prefer to kill you now when you're an easy target. That way, they can slowly exterminate the next generation of Death Eaters with far less trouble."

He looked intently at Draco. The flames in the fireplace were reflected in his dark narrowed eyes.

"I think that I've covered enough basic information today," he said. "You may go now and tell your mother that I will not be doing this again!"


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Draco was glad to leave. He had found training with Mulciber rather tedious. The things that Mulciber had been lecturing him about were not boring by any means and he needed to know them, but Draco didn't particularly enjoy listening to Mulciber talk for his whole training and having to sit there silently, nearly the whole time.

He decided to return to his bedroom and return to planning a way to assassinate Dumbledore. He hadn't gotten any good ideas so far. He saw his mother and aunt arguing near the stairs. Narcissa looked stressed. Bellatrix appeared to have calmed down quite a bit, however she still looked quite irritated. Neither of them seemed to notice him.

"You're his mother, Cissy," snapped Bellatrix. "Why don't you just teach him yourself?"

"You know that I barely have any experience in the Dark Arts, Bella," said Narcissa sounding frustrated. "Draco is sixteen. The Cruciatus Curse can be a very alarming thing for a sixteen year old to witness. It'll just take him a while to get used to these things. He needs someone to mentor him, Bella."

"Why don't you ask Mulciber to continue doing it, or Barty?" said Bellatrix.

"Didn't you see how reluctant Mulciber was to train Draco today, Bella?" Narcissa said. "I doubt that he'll be willing to continue mentoring Draco, and Barty isn't too keen on doing so either."

"I'd train him if you'd just let me discipline him," snapped Bellatrix. "Honestly, Cissy. When I punished him today, you acted like I tried to beat him to death."

"There was nothing to punish him for," said Narcissa, angrily.

"I barely hurt him at all," shrieked Bellatrix. "And he deserved it! Didn't you and Lucius ever discipline him? Did Lucius not use similar methods of punishment? "

"Yes," muttered Narcissa. "But he only punished Draco when necessary. Please, Bella! If you'd only be patient with him…"

"I can only be so patient, Cissy," said Bellatrix.

Draco didn't stay to listen to any more of their dispute. He ran past his aunt and mother, and up the spiral staircase. He reached the third floor. On the third floor of the building, there were two corridors. Each led to five different bedrooms. Draco's room was at the end of the right corridor

On that particular day, his mind was full of thoughts about what had happened during his training and how he was going to kill Dumbledore. Without thinking about where he was going, Draco accidentally went to the room at the end of the left corridor. The door was wide open, and he went inside.

He found himself in a room that he had never been in before. It was cluttered with books, picture frames, boxes, old candle sticks, broken shards of glass and many other various items. It was obviously meant to be a bedroom, since there was a bed that had been pushed to the very back of the room. Draco looked around and immediately realized that he had gone down the wrong corridor. He turned to leave, but something caught his eye.

In the corner of the room there was a small wooden table and a shelf. On the table was a wide, shallow basin. On the shelf were about twenty glass vials containing liquids of different colors. Draco made his way through several piles of rubbish to get a closer look. He stepped on a piece of glass and cut himself. Wincing, he kicked the glass aside and continued towards the shelf and basin.

Most of the vials were labeled with skulls and cross bones. Draco's first thought was to steal a few vials and try to poison Dumbledore at school, but he knew that that would be very foolish for two reasons.

Whoever owned the vials would notice that a few of their poisons were gone, and he shuddered to think of what would happen if they found out he had taken them. The other Death Eaters weren't exactly easy going people to say the least.

Also, Dumbledore was thought by many to be the strongest and most intelligent wizard alive, and Draco knew that Dumbledore wouldn't be fooled into drinking something that had been poisoned. He quickly decided to leave the vials alone.

The shallow basin was full of what looked like some sort of swirling, glittering liquid. Draco went even closer to it. He stood over it, and watched the liquid whirl around in the basin. It was like an invisible spoon was stirring the basin's contents.

When Draco looked more carefully at it, the shining liquid began to change. Now, it looked like colors were being mixed into it. Eventually, the colors settled into place and Draco looked down at what appeared to be a picture of a room. He leaned over the basin.

Suddenly, his surroundings started to blur. It felt as though he had touched a Portkey, which he knew he hadn't done. It was like he was being pulled into a vortex. When everything had refocused, he looked around. He was no longer in the bedroom. By the looks of it, he wasn't even at Headquarters anymore.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Draco was _definitely_ not at Headquarters. He was quite sure of that. He was in a dimly lit hallway, much like the one at Headquarters, but it wasn't the same. He heard voices coming from a nearby room. He followed them and found two men gathered in what looked like a neat little bedroom. It was nighttime and there were a few candles burning.

They paid no attention to him. He went closer to find out who they were, and was shocked when he saw their faces. The two men were Barty Crouch Jr. and James Avery, but they looked much younger. Crouch looked like he was about eighteen and Avery looked only slightly older. This made no sense to Draco at all, since the Crouch Jr. and Avery that he knew were both in their mid-thirties.

Crouch looked less stressed. He was still thin, but he appeared to be much healthier. Avery looked about the same, although his face was less lined and scarred. Crouch turned to face Draco, but acted as though he hadn't seen anyone.

"You know I'm going after them," said Crouch in a hushed voice.

"Don't," hissed Avery. "I doubt that they'll be attacked. They're experts when it comes to committing these sorts of crimes without getting caught."

"How can you be sure of that they won't be attacked?" asked Crouch.

Avery hesitated before saying, "Alright, I don't have any proof of that, but if you go after them and there is an attack, you're not going to be a huge help. You're not going to help anyone by you getting yourself killed."

"I can try to warn them," Crouch said. "The area that they're planning on going to is crawling with Aurors at every corner. I can try to convince them not to…"

"They've probably already began by now," said Avery, glancing up at a clock that was hanging on the wall. "And everywhere is crawling with Aurors now. You know Bellatrix. Once she had her mind set on doing something you can't talk her out of it."

"Rabastan was in my year at Hogwarts," said Crouch. "I've let Evan die, and I've let Wilkes die. I'm not letting Rabastan get himself killed too."

"You didn't let anyone die, Barty," said Avery in voice that sounded slightly sympathetic and slightly exasperated at the same time. "How could you have possibly known that Mad-Eye was going to show up at Evan's house that day? How could you have predicted that Wilkes would decide to try to spy on the Order that night? It's the same with Rabastan. If something does happen to him, it's not your fault."

"It's not the same at all!" snapped Crouch. "I _know_ where Rabastan is and what he's doing because you told me!"

"And that's something that I regret doing," muttered Avery.

"How can you possibly expect me to just stay here and act like nothing is going on when I know that one of my childhood friends is doing something so dangerous?" snapped Crouch.

"Keep your voice down," hissed Avery. "Barty, the Lestranges have done plenty of risky things in the past few years without getting seriously injured. Right now, no one knows the truth about you. As far as the Ministry is concerned, you're innocent and there's no reason to accuse you of being a Death Eater. Right now, the Ministry is completely unaware of everything. If you go and try to stop the Lestranges, you could be discovered."

"Well, maybe I don't really care about being discovered!" said Crouch. "Have you ever thought that maybe there are some things that matter more to me than being discovered?"

"Do you want to go to Azkaban?" asked Avery, sounding more and more frustrated.

"Of course I don't," said Crouch. "But I can't believe that you are so afraid of Azkaban that you are just going to abandon the Lestranges and Evan's poor family and Mulciber and…"

"Who said that I'm going to leave Mulciber to the dementors?" snapped Avery. "He's like a brother to me. It's always been that way. I hope that he doesn't get arrested, but for now, he's fine."

"If he got arrested, you'd still keep your little job at the Ministry," said Crouch coldly. "You wouldn't even try to defend him. You wouldn't try to defend me if I got arrested. You just care about keeping yourself out of Azkaban."

"You're being ridiculous, Barty," said Avery. "I wouldn't leave either of you to the dementors. I'm just trying to keep myself out of Azkaban because I have responsibilities. I need to keep my family safe from the Order. If I go to Azkaban, I'm sure that the Order will kill them. You need to think about these things also, Barty. You need to think about keeping Sky and Jen safe…"

"I know that Sky would want me to go warn the Lestranges," said Crouch. "And Jen is staying with Mulciber. I'm going to try to avoid being caught, but I have to do this."

"Barty, I'm not going to let you go," said Avery. "I'm sure that the Lestranges are fully aware of the risks."

"Try to stop me then, you coward," murmured Crouch.

He grabbed his wand, which was lying on a nearby table. Avery whipped out his wand to stop Crouch, but in an instant, there was a soft pop and Crouch disappeared. Draco was left staring at a distraught Avery, wondering where he was and what was going on.

**The next chapter will be posted soon!**


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Draco's surroundings began to blur again, and then refocused to show another scene. He was in the middle of a seemingly deserted street. Then, he heard footsteps. Draco turned to see the eighteen-year-old Crouch run past him.

Crouch turned a corner and Draco followed him. Crouch was standing in the middle of the street, in the dark. He looked around and murmured, "Lumos."

A small ball of light appeared at the tip of his wand. He held it in front of him, and continued down the street. Eventually, three figures came into view.

"Who are you," shouted one of them.

Crouch held his wand up so that the three people could see his face. One of them groaned. Slowly, they all came forward. There were two men and a woman.

"Barty," said the woman. "What are you doing here?"

Draco recognized that voice. He wasn't at all surprised when his aunt came forward. She looked also much younger.

"Avery told me," said Crouch.

"You shouldn't have come here, Barty," snapped Bellatrix. "Go back to the Leaky Cauldron."

"What exactly did you do?" asked Crouch. "Avery said something about attacking the Longbottoms."

"That's none of your business!" hissed Bellatrix. "Get out of here, and leave us alone. We still have a few things that we must take care of."

"So you already attacked them then," said Crouch with a sigh.

"Yes, we did," said one of the men. "What does it matter to you, Crouch?"

"I wanted to warn you, Rodolphus…" began Crouch.

"Wanted to warn us?" scoffed Bellatrix. "What is it that you could possibly warn us about that we don't already know?"

"I just thought that I could stop you," said Crouch. "Why did you attack the Longbottoms anyway? Why did you want to seek out trouble?"

"Don't you care about finding the Dark Lord, Barty?" said Bellatrix. "Don't you…"

Her voice trailed off. She whipped around, her wand outstretched. A group of people was nearing them.

"Lower your wands now or we curse!" shouted one of the people.

Bellatrix laughed. Crouch had become very pale.

"Give us a reason to!" she screamed back.

"You have been caught at the scene of a crime!" yelled another one of the approaching people. "We are Aurors from the Ministry and we order you to lower your wands now, or else we'll have to use ours."

"Like that scares us," Bellatrix sneered. "Like we'd be afraid of a bunch of Aurors!"

"This is our last warning!" shouted the first Auror.

Bellatrix laughed again. The Aurors began to shoot curses. She blocked most of them with a flick of her wand. The Aurors were close enough now for Draco to see that there must have been at least a dozen of them, probably more.

He glanced at Crouch, who was now deflecting and shooting curses rapidly. Somehow, none of the curses seemed to be able to hurt Draco. It was like he wasn't there at all.

There was a shriek and Draco saw the young Crouch crumple to the ground, before being snatched up by an Auror. Crouch was still breathing, but his wand was lying a few feet away on the ground. Refusing to give up the fight, he aimed a few kicks at the Auror, who grunted and let go of him. It only took a few seconds for another Auror to grab Crouch and press his wand against Crouch's throat.

"Drop your wands or I'll kill him!" shouted the Auror.

"If you think that they'll stop just because you're threatening me, you're seriously mistaken," said Crouch.

Bellatrix merely shrugged. She and the man called Rodolphus continued to fight. The other man who had been with Bellatrix immediately dropped his wand. He was a skinny and worried looking man. He too was seized by an Auror, and held with a wand against his throat. Crouch appeared to be surprised by this.

"You must be joking, Rabastan," muttered Crouch. "You'd give up the fight for a 'worthless blood-traitor'; is that not exactly what you called me just a few weeks ago?"

The worried looking man said nothing. He glanced at Crouch and muttered something to himself.

Again, the scene became unfocused. Draco was used to that happening by then, although he still had no idea why it happened. When his surroundings settled into place, he was in a jail. It was Azkaban; he was sure of it. Dementors glided around everywhere, but somehow, their powers did not affect him in the same way that the curses hadn't been unable to hurt him.

By the looks of it, he was at the end of a narrow hallway. There were three cells there. Each of them was occupied. The man in the first cell appeared to be asleep. Draco recognized him as the convict, Sirius Black. Black had been innocent, but he had been killed by Draco's aunt, Bellatrix. That was all Draco knew about him.

Draco recognized the people in the other two cells immediately. In the middle cell, was Mulciber. He looked to be in his early twenties, but Draco could tell that stress was already starting to affect him greatly. Draco was barely surprised by this. It was like he had traveled to the past, although he didn't know how that could have possibly happened.

In the last cell was Crouch. Crouch looked like he was about nineteen now. He looked much worse than he had during the battle with the Aurors. He was shivering, emaciated and looked terribly ill. Mulciber was leaning against the bars of his cell, trying to see Crouch.

"Are you feeling worse?" whispered Mulciber.

Crouch lifted his head slightly and inched towards the bars of his cell.

"Yes," he murmured. "But it's not like I'm expecting to feel any better."

"That's because you stopped eating a week ago," said Mulciber.

"I ate something once," muttered Crouch. "It didn't help."

"Maybe you should…" began Mulciber.

"There's nothing either of us can do," murmured Crouch. "I've accepted it. You should too."

"Accept what?" whispered Mulciber.

"I think you know," murmured Crouch. "The dementors will come for my body in a week… maybe in a few days. I'm just waiting."

There was a brief silence before Mulciber said, "You shouldn't be the one who's dying."

"Believe me, I don't really fancy death," replied Crouch, smiling weakly. "But it's coming. Dying actually doesn't feel too terrible. At least you know that the suffering is going to end soon."

"But you have something to live for," said Mulciber. "Once the Death Eaters in Azkaban are free, you can go back to Sky. You can…"

"Even if I lived long enough," said Crouch grimly. "I doubt that she'd remember or care to remember me. I'd remember her of course, but…"

"She's been in the Prophet for rebelling against the Ministry ever since your capture," said Mulciber. "And as far as I know she still is, but the point is that you shouldn't be the one who's dying. You were innocent; you don't deserve to be here."

"Neither do you," murmured Crouch but Mulciber ignored him.

"_I_ should be the one who's dying right now," screamed Mulciber. "I _want_ to be the one who's on their death bed! You should be the one who lives through all of this! There is _nothing_ left in this world for me; there's something left for you!"

"You can think whatever you want to think about yourself," Crouch sighed. "But Death isn't always fair. I think that we all know that. We just have to accept it."

The young Crouch's voice trailed off and Azkaban prison became a swirling blur. This time, it was different. Draco felt like he was being pulled out of a whirlpool.

Seconds later, he was back in the cluttered bedroom. It was like he had awoken from a vivid dream. He gasped and looked around. Standing across from him was the older Barty Crouch Jr., looking rather irritated.

"You're a curious little ferret, aren't you, Draco?" said Crouch. "I assume you found my private memories fascinating, didn't you?"


	20. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: I will be starting school soon, so I won't be updating as often, however, I will continue to update all of my stories whenever I can.**

**This is a pretty short chapter, but I hope that you enjoy it. Review if you have comments, but ****no flames****.**

Chapter 19

Draco didn't answer Crouch. Instead, he ran.

In retrospect, it was a pretty stupid idea to attempt to run from someone that you were going to live with for the next two months or so, but when you're in shock, you don't exactly think logically. Draco didn't get far though, for he found that the door was locked.

"Somehow, I knew that you'd try to escape," said Crouch. "So, I took care to lock the door."

Draco looked at Crouch nervously. The last time he had upset Crouch hadn't been a very pleasant experience.

"I have a few questions for you," Crouch said. "First of all, what did you see?"

Draco didn't answer.

"I can wait here all day for you to answer me," said Crouch in a bored voice. "My schedule isn't terribly busy, but I don't think that you want to be here all day, do you? I shall ask you again: What did you see?"

"I…" Draco stammered. "I saw you."

"'I saw you'," repeated Crouch. "Can you please be a bit more specific?"

"I saw you," said Draco. "At least I sort of saw you. When I was um… in the…"

"The pensieve?" said Crouch. "Yes, this is called a pensieve. It allows me to see memories from my past, and possibly the past of others. Go on."

"When I was in the pensieve," said Draco. "I saw you when you were a teenager, and I saw Mulciber and Avery… and my aunt… and I think I saw my uncles… they were younger too."

"And what exactly were we doing?" asked Crouch.

"You were talking," said Draco.

"Please stop being so vague, or we're never going to get anywhere," groaned Crouch.

"I'm not really sure what was going," said Draco.

Crouch sighed and said, "You can't even describe it at all?"

Draco had a feeling that Crouch would keep questioning him until he gave a satisfactory answer.

"There was a group of Aurors," he said slowly. "They arrested you, my aunt and my uncles."

Crouch walked over to the Pensieve. He stirred its contents with his wand a little and nodded.

"You must have seen something else," said Crouch. "You were looking at my memories for quite a while."

"I saw you and Avery arguing," replied Draco. "And I saw you and Mulciber in Azkaban."

Crouch nodded again. Draco was surprised by how calm he was.

"Pensieves are interesting aren't they?" muttered Crouch.

Draco didn't reply, but Crouch didn't seem to need one. He appeared to be talking more to himself than to Draco.

"They are also very useful," Crouch said after a while, looking up at Draco. "They are especially helpful in these sorts of circumstances. I doubt that you really understand the danger that you are in. You haven't seen the worse that the Order can do. I have. It's all in my memories."

Draco didn't know where Crouch was going with this, but he was listening intently. Crouch muttered, "Alohomora", flicked his wand and unlocked the door.

"Go downstairs and tell your mother that I want you here in a week," said Crouch. "I can take over your training for one day. There's something that I want you to see."

Draco turned to leave, but then he spotted the vials of colored liquid.

"Sir, what's in those vials?" asked Draco.

"Poisons," replied Crouch. "They are very powerful and they are nearly undetectable, unless the person whom you want to poison is a very experienced wizard. These poisons can kill a person is less than five minutes. I always keep some vials, but you wouldn't have any use for them. Now, go tell your mother that I want to see you in a week. I'd advise leaving before I change my mind about transfigurating you into a ferret again."


End file.
